Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said PH will still support the proposed bill brought by the government, but it wanted to ensure a more meaningful devolution of power to Sabah and Sarawak takes place.

“The amendment suggested by PH is to insert education and healthcare in the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement here today.

“Our proposed amendment to the constitutional amendment bill is to make education and healthcare as a power to be shared among federal and state governments of Sabah and Sarawak.

“The reason for our proposal is because we are for unity in diversity.

“Sabah and Sarawak are located in a different geographical location and there is a different social context. As such, these two states should have some say in their own education and healthcare matters.”

Chan said he, together with Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen and Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau met with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun to submit the motion earlier today.

Tangau said this motion involved improvements to the bill that will touch on Article 1(2) and Article 160(2).

“I fully support this bill but we are just proposing that the amendment bill should be improved, which is to amend ‘List IIIA of the Ninth Schedule – Supplement to Concurrent List for Sabah and Sarawak’,” he said.

“With this move, Sabah and Sarawak will have powers to help the federal government in matters of public health and education.”

According to Tangau, the former Warisan-led government in Sabah established its own education and health ministries before and that it was done without going through any legislative process.